


from the dawn of time to the end of days (i will have to run)

by amosanguis



Series: creature AUs [19]
Category: Common Law
Genre: 2nd POV - Wes, 3rd POV - Travis, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Unicorn, Blood and Gore, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, The Author Regrets Nothing, Unicorn!Wes, title from a song, unicorns vs lions, yes that happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-31
Updated: 2013-08-31
Packaged: 2017-12-25 05:37:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/949234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amosanguis/pseuds/amosanguis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“How long do you think it would be before he sold you to the highest bidder?  Would he kill you for your horn and your hooves?  Would he chain you to a post and keep you in the yard – charging people to look?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	from the dawn of time to the end of days (i will have to run)

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Inspired by the nursery rhyme "The Lion and the Unicorn" - which describes the wars between England (the Lion) and Scotland (the Unicorn). I just took the enmity between the two and conformed it to fandom. 
> 
> 2\. Extremely long title from "Iron" by Woodkid

-z-

 

Your forelegs trembleshakeburn; your head hangs low and there’s blood flowing into your eyes from where your ears had been shredded.

 

-x-

 

“So how well do you know Wes?” Travis asks the man sitting at Wes’ desk.  The man had introduced himself as Mabaya.  Travis is trying to be friendly, he really is – but there’s something about the stranger that puts him off, that makes him edgy.

“We went to law school together,” Mabaya smiles with all his teeth and his gold-brown eyes glimmer for half-a-second.  “We lost touch over the years, but when my business brought me to LA – I just had to look him up.”

“Yeah?” Travis nods.  “What kind of business you into?”

“Wildlife management,” the guy chuckles at some inside joke that he doesn’t elaborate on.  “The LA Zoo invited me out to lecture.”

“That’s cool, dude,” Travis nods again, checks his watch.  And then Wes is walking into the bullpen and just as Travis opens his mouth to get Wes’ attention – several things happen almost instantaneously.

 

-x-

 

Bits of guts and muscle tissue fall from your horn as you try to lift your head, searching over the too close, too quiet crowd of civilians and reporters for Travis.

 

-x-

 

Wes’ head jerks up and his eyes meet Mabaya’s.  Then, then Mabaya’s lip curls up and his canines have suddenly grown a few inches and he’s snarling.  And then before Travis could even blink, there were claws against his neck and hot breath against his ears; Wes drops his mug and it shatters at his feet.

“Nice to see you again, _nyati_.”

“Here?” Wes speaks through clench teeth as he waves a hand at the other detectives.  “You want to do this here?”

“I’m not the one who was hunted to near extinction,” the man is laughing despite the sound of a dozen guns being cocked and aimed in his direction.

“Put your guns down,” Wes meets Travis’ eye, “they won’t do anything against him.”

“I wonder what he would do if he knew,” Mabaya is leaning in close and his breath reeks of rotted meat.  “How long do you think it would be before he sold you to the highest bidder?  Would he kill you for your horn and your hooves?  Would he chain you to a post and keep you in the yard – charging people to look?”

“Wes, what the fuck is going on?” Travis grits out.

Mabaya spins him around and looks into his eyes – and then he roars with laughter and his elongated canines are gleaming and suddenly he’s darting forward.  And then he and Wes are flying out of the window.

 

-x-

 

Travis is suddenly right in front of you and there are tears in his eyes and his voice is whisper-soft against the deep long gashes on your face, your neck, down your shoulders and back.

 

-x-

 

Travis leads the panicking group of detectives out into the courtyard.

And it’s not Mabaya or Wes that Travis sees – it’s a lion and a unicorn.

And the lion is on the unicorn’s back and his teeth are clamped down on the back of the unicorn’s neck – trying to snap it.  But then the unicorn rears and slams his entire body weight onto his back, onto the lion’s body.

With a sharp snarl the lion is dislodged, but not before his claws rake down the unicorn’s neck.

Then the unicorn rears up and he slams his cloven hooves down on the lion’s hindquarters and then he’s dancing back out of reach.  He tosses his head and his looks down at the lion with a sneer – seemingly laughing as the lion tries to stand.

But the lion’s back legs are broken, shattered, a mangled mess of blood and exposed bone.

The unicorn rears, kicks at the air, and screams – and then he charges forward and impales the lion and, rearing up again, tosses the lion up and over his back.

There’s a disgusting wet sound as organs and waste land with the lion, on the lion.

And there’s a sudden heaviness in the unicorn’s movement as he walks towards the heaving, dying lion.  And, taking mercy on him, the unicorn drives his horn one last time into the lion’s chest.

And when he pulls the horn away, it’s out of a human’s chest.

It’s out of Mabaya’s chest.

 

-x-

 

“Oh my god, Wes,” and you see how badly he wants to touch you – but your whole body thrums with agony and you don’t think you could bear it.  “What do I need to do?  Tell me, Wes, what do I need to do?”

And you touch your bloody horn to Travis’ hand and you project, _Station.  Safe.  Need to.  Change back._

And then your legs buckle and you barely catch the collective gasp-groan from the gathered crowd.  Travis beckons over several officers and there are hands all over your body and you fight every instinct to scream, to fight, to _run_.

And all the while Travis is whispering softly as you’re guided back to the station and into Sutton’s office.  You note that every time there was the soft sound of a shutter, it was quickly followed by Travis’ shouting or Amy cocking her gun.

Once the door to the office was closed – and it was just you and Travis with the Captain standing strict guard just outside – you fell forward onto human knees.  The transformation itself is quick, it was just a shift of reality and the shuddering breath of your magic.

“Wes!” and Travis is again right in front of you, again hovering just shy of touching you.  “What do I—”

You pull him forward into a hug.  Partly to shut him up, but mostly because you had been so close to death and you just wanted to fill yourself with Travis’ scent.

“I’ll be fine,” you manage to rasp out as you let your magic loose to wrap your wounds, to heal your body and its muscles and bones.  And for the briefest moment, you see the reflection of your horn glowing as blue lightning crackles around it.

You close your eyes against the reflection and lean even more heavily on Travis.  You try to forget that unicorns had just been ousted to the human race all over again.

“Just be quiet for once,” you say against his skin; the rasp is gone from your words as the magic – in the form of the blue lightning – dances across the deep gages in your neck, knitting the skin and muscle and tissue back together. 

“Holy shit,” Travis whispers, his fingers dancing over a light scar that had just been a large, gaping wound.

And then there are blankets around you and you want to ask Travis just where the hell he had pulled them from, but Travis is warm and you’re tired – so fucking tired – so you close your eyes and smile when you feel Travis’ lips ghost against your temple.

 

-z-

 

End

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Mabaya – Swahili for “evil”  
> 2\. nyati - Swahili for “unicorn”


End file.
